'My best friend is the Raggedy Doctor.
He's my best friend because he takes me on journeys in his blue box. And he helped to fix the crack in my wall. The crack was a crack in spa-'
"Amelia Pond what are you writing?"
The teacher looked sternly over the top of her glasses at the girl, who dropped her pen and looked up slowly.
"About my best friend, miss, like you told me miss," Amelia replied slowly. She was wondering what she'd done wrong. Her teacher had said she wanted the class to write about their best friends, and she wanted to know why they were best friends.
The teacher sighed, "Amelia, I said your best friend. Not an imaginary friend."
Amelia bit her lip before answering, 'Oh no! He's not imaginary! He's real, honest miss, and he really is my best friend. He helped me miss…"
"Amelia!" the teacher drew herself up to height, "Do not answer me back. I want you to write about your best friend. Come on, write about…." The teacher cast around the room before alighting on the nervous and unnotable Rory, "Write about Rory, Amelia."
"But miss! He's not my best friend!" Amelia whimpered, feeling tears begin to well up in her eyes.
"Amelia Pond I have had enough!" the teacher pulled Amelia up by her arm, "We are going to the heads office, and you will explain to him why you haven't done your work."
Amelia bowed her head as the tears spilt over and began to run down her cheeks. She let herself be pulled along, led out of the classroom, ignoring the whispers of her classmates behind her.
Her teacher knocked smartly on the office door when they reached the headteachers room.
"Come in!" a fierce voice called. Amelia clenched her hands into fists and rubbed them across her eyes to get rid of the tears before she walked into the office after her teacher. She kept her eyes fixed on the ground.
"I have brought Amelia to you as…" her teacher trailed off as she noticed someone else in the room, "Oh, I didn't realise you had company."
"Ah yes, Mr. Smith is visiting to discuss what expansions could be made in history lessons." The headteacher said calmly, "Do continue."
Slightly flustered at the presence of the young man, Amelia's teacher stuttered before continuing, "I have brought Amelia to you as she has refused to write about her best friend and chosen an imaginary one."
"My best friend was an imaginary one," Mr. Smith said quietly.
"Thank you Mr. Smith, but this is a school matter of a delicate nature," Amelia's teacher said smartly.
Amelia's head, however, had snapped up as though it were on a rope when she heard that voice. It was her Raggedy Doctor, his hands on his hips, his blue shirt slightly tidied and his tie straight, but it was him nevertheless. He winked and shook his head slightly when he saw she'd noticed, warning her not to say anything. Not yet.
"Well, if it's ok with you?" the Raggedy Doctor glanced at the head teacher who shrugged and nodded.
"Amelia, tell me. Does your imaginary friend stick up for you?" Amelia nodded, "Good good…and does he always make you laugh? Yeh? Brilliant! Does your imaginary friend keep his promises? Well, at least most of the time 'cause sometimes it's hard to always keep promises. He does? So…Is your imaginary friend your best friend?"
"Yes." Amelia said firmly. Her eyes sparkling as she grinned at her Raggedy Doctor.
"So, I don't see why Amelia here should be told she can't write about her best friend 'cause he's imaginary. You didn't say the best friend had to be real…and whose to say her best friend is imaginary." The Raggedy Doctor winked.
"But no one has ever seen him." Amelia's teacher said firmly, her arms folded across her chest.
The Raggedy Doctor looked at Amelia, who grinned broadly, a gap showing where her front tooth would soon come through.
"Well...I have. He's a Doctor."